increased muscle

hello i have seen homecoming three times now and i’m obsessed and in love with everything about the movie and the trans!peter headcanon

The first thing i heard about trans!peter was a post talking about how being bullied for being a nerd in school really isnt a common thing anymore, at least in america, and, if anything, in my experience, it tends to be the smartest kids that are actually the most popular. And the post raised the question: So what if peter is actually bullied because he’s trans? And that makes so much sense. And being a trans boy in high school myself and absolutely on board with the headcanon i thought i’d join in and add some things. Some of these other people may have talked about also.

“I am not a GIRL. IM A BOY. I mEAN IM A MAN.” peter gets very upset when donald glover’s character calls him a girl. his voice breaks and he gets visibly flustered.

Flash calls him “Penis Parker”. speaking from experience, high school bullies are not very creative with nicknames and will always go straight for the deepest insecurity they know. I personally think this is a dig at peter being trans.

Peter has proportionally quite small hands and feet.

He enjoys playing with things like Legos and Star Wars action figures. possibly because he didn’t get to when he was little.

He has quite a high pitched voice which he has difficulty controlling the depth of.

May’s comment about his body changing and him not feeling like he can fit in at a classmate’s party makes much more sense if you think of peter as trans.

Ned asks Peter if the spider venom gave him the ability to lay eggs, which is a bizarre question to begin with, but even stranger if being asked of an amab person. but this likely doesn’t have any substance as it was obviously just meant to be a funny moment, which it was, i laughed out loud all three times i heard it.

Peter doesn’t have much in the way of sideburns.

He’s pretty short.

I personally never saw a spidey bulge. now it’s possible it was toned down or edited out but it was definitely visible on the last two versions of spiderman and i don’t know why this one would be any more edited than them.

He doesn’t know how to tie a tie. Now this seems unimportant at first, but i actually think it could mean a lot, so hear me out. Considering how many clubs and extra curriculars he’s in (robotics, marching band, decathlon, etc.) he should have been to many recitals, concerts, competitions, etc that would require him to wear a tie throughout his intermediate and high school years. It’s weird that neither him nor may would know how to tie one. unless- he’s never done it before because he’d always worn the traditionally feminine uniform or formal wear.

Now, there’s those two shirtless scenes that some people have been using to discredit the headcanon where he’s clearly muscular and flat chested with no visible scars. Well, my doubtful friends, there’s the possibility of a keyhole surgery which leaves minimal scarring. Also, the spider venom increases muscle growth and metabolism, and also gives peter a mild healing factor. This could have caused any scars he had to heal and fade completely.

now obviously i realize not all of this inherently means he’s trans. cis guys can be short or have small hands and feet or high pitched voices or rounder hairlines, especially when they’re only 15 years old and everyone is growing at a different rate. These things just flesh out the headcanon a bit more.

tl;dr: Peter Parker is an endlessly adorable trans boy and the hero we all need.

7 Reasons Why You Need To Try Yoga

In the spirit of No Fear Friday, let’s talk about trying something new - yoga! Here are some of the benefits practicing yogis experience both on and off their mats:

1. Yoga brain. Yoga is a great way to destress, moving into the body in this way leads to what some refer to as “yoga brain” which is an intense feeling of calm & relaxation that follows us for hours after our session.

2. Increased flexibility. Being flexible leads to better posture and the ability to perform better athletically, it can also make sex more enjoyable. Flexibility is important for our muscles because it allows nutrients to enter the tissues and let toxins out with ease.

3. Increased muscle strength and tone. Fad diets and supplements are always raving on about how they can help us to lose weight, get strong and tone up; well here’s something that won’t fail and doesn’t have any dangerous side effects - practicing yoga regularly.

4. Improved vitality. Yoga is all about the breath and moving into the body - the breath is the life force energy and when we concentrate on conscious breathing we can feel the energy inside us rise up. A regular yoga practice can reverse conditions like chronic fatigue - if accompanied by good nutrition.

5. Balanced metabolism. The movement of the body flowing from one pose to another helps to boost our metabolism which burns calories. An essential component of maintaining a healthy lifestyle is burning more calories than we put into our bodies.

6. Heart health. Yoga is considered moderate exercise and just 30 minutes of yoga a day can protect our hearts from diseases like heart disease and COPD.

7. Protection from injury. Moving into the body and stretching regularly prevents injuries because we are not sitting stagnant which causes joints and muscles to become stiff and tight - which makes them more prone to injury.

Hi babes, I’ve been getting a ton of asks about fitness and health so I wanted to make a bigger more generalized post about it!!! DISCLAIMER: I am not a trainer or nutritionist or a doctor- these are just some tips I’ve learned along the way that have helped me!!

-For cardio to burn fat: HIIT. High Intensity Interval Training. Basically, you need to run for 20 or 30 minutes, alternating between walking and sprinting. You can do this on a treadmill, track, or even outside your house, whatever works!! 30 seconds of running and 90 seconds of walking is a good balance for me. This is the best way to burn fat!!! But you have to be consistent with it. Patience is key!

-Muscle burns fat, so incorporate strength training! Google some exercises to do with any weights you have in your house, or just do body weight exercise. Pushups, curlups, and pullups are all great!

-Get some sun!! Vitamin D is very important to overall health. Yes, excessive tanning or any tanning booth usage is damaging, but an hour or so of sun while wearing an SPF is very good for you!

-Drink Water. I know you’ve already heard it a million times. Just do it.

-Eat a diet high in protein and vegetables, and lower in carbs to increase muscle and burn fat! This is what works for me, but you can get a more personalized diet from your doctor. In general, reducing processed/boxed foods is always your best bet!!

This post is dedicated to those of you who know someone with an eating disorder. Are you afraid of saying something wrong, and want to know what you should and should not say?

(It is very long, and for that I apologise.)

Please read the post with respect. This applies to both patients and their family/friends. Remember that no one are perfect. The person with an eating disorder is not using her/his eating disorder as an excuse to “be difficult”, it is a real and severe problem for her/him! Just as important to note is that family and friends are not mind readers, and they are not mean. Knowing that someone you love and care about have a life threatening mental illness, is a terrible situation to be put in, and most parents will do ANYTHING in their power to save their child from illness and death.

Below is a list (with explanations) about what to say, or what not say, to a person with an eating disorder:

- Do not ask yes/no-questions. If you ask a question such as: Can’t you just eat this dinner?, the answer you receive will likely be no, and the conversation abruptly stops. The answer you receive might also be yes, but be a lie.

- Do not ask leading questions. If you ask: There is no way to make you eat this dinner, is it?, the answer will likely be no. Leading questions come with a huge disadvantage: The person can feel forced to lie. Because you are giving her/him an ultimatum, but the eating disorder does not allow this ultimatum to be realized. Please note: I am not saying that family and friends should “play along” with the eating disorder. But I am saying that if you directly oppose it, there is a high risk that you could make things worse (aka make the eating disorder stronger instead of weaker).

- Ask open questions. This is the way to go. As opposed to the two prior examples, you could ask: How are you doing right now? Why do you think this dinner is difficult for you? Are you afraid of something specific? Is there anything I can do to help?As you can see, neither of these questions are yes/no-questions or leading questions. In other words, open questions like these will make room for honest answers. The person will feel safe that you simply want to help, and that you are trying to understand.You should also be clear that it is fine if the person cannot, or does not want to, answer the question. Be clear that you just want to show her/him that you care. You can also add that the person can come back to you whenever she/he feels like it, and answer the question later.

- Do not say “I know EXACTLY how you feel!”. Because unless you have had an eating disorder yourself, it is very unlikely that you know that. Ask open questions instead.

- Do not comment on other people’s body or weight. First of all, this is bad manners and can be very impolite. Secondly, for a person with an eating disorder, body, weight, and appearance is by far the most difficult topic for conversation. Body, weight and appearance are topics that can, and should, be limited to treatment settings. Plus; there is a major chance that the person already knows what you think of her/his body.

- Do not say “You look better!”. This is a tricky one. Hard to understand, even for people with eating disorders (believe it or not).Imagine this: You think you are chubby, overweight, or fat. In spite of this, your family and friends (sometimes also complete strangers) tells you over and over again that you need to gain at least 15 kilos/33 lbs. When you finally do gain, everyone are running in your direction to tell you that they can see you put on weight.I doubt that would feel nice for any person, eating disordered or not. And this is my point here. Almost all people with eating disorders see themselves as fat/chubby/too big. It is also very common that they want to become healthy, and want to fully recover, but still do not want to gain any weight. You should avoid this comment because it confirms (indirectly, and wrongly too, of course) that the persons greatest fear of all has actually come true, they have now become even fatter, chubbier, or bigger.It is very easy to understand why family and friends want to tell their beloved one that they look healthier! It is meant as a compliment, meant to be something mutually joyful.It took me years to be able to handle this comment. Believe me, I have tried multiple times and failed. I tried to feel happy about it, I tried to block out the voice that translated “you look better” into “you are the most obese person on earth”, I tried to control my own reaction to make people happy. It always ended with a fake smile, and a bunch of chaos. And relapse. I have had an eating disorder for years, and it took me quite some time in recovery to be able to handle the comment as well. Before this happened, I had to overcome all the hatred I harbored against my body.

- Do not comment on other people’s eating habits or -patterns. People with eating disorders are fully aware that they have different eating habits (or –patterns) than you, whether the difference lies in amounts or food types. First of all, the comment is unnecessary. Secondly, comments like these only contribute to the person feeling guilty: (S)he does not want to bother anyone, but now receives a clear message that that’s what (s)he does. Knowing that you worry people who love you, does not make the eating disorder loosen its grip. What it usually leads to, is the person wanting to eat alone or in secret, lie about food intake, or resort to purging/laxative abuse/(excessive) exercise. The same rule applies when/if the person eats what you think of as “too much” or “unhealthy”. Don’t bring it up. Just don’t. Leave the person alone.

- Do not talk about food during meals. I am not saying you should not express your joy over fabulous, tasty sauce/gravy. What I am saying is you should avoid saying things like: “I am so stuffed!”, “You must be very hungry!”, “Aren’t you having one more portion?”, “This is healthy!”, or “Nah, this is quite unhealthy!”. If the person actually tries to finish his/her dinner plate, you are transforming the effort into a house of cards: It could collapse any second.If you say “this is healthy”, the person might experience trouble eating tomorrow’s dinner as it is “less healthy” (because it contains more carbohydrates, for example).If you say “this is unhealthy”, you have potentially ruined dinner with immediate effect. In many cases, the person might resort to purging, (excessive) exercise, etc. to rid him-/herself of this “unhealthy” thing. The person might also “transfer” the unhealthy-label to many other food types similar to the one you just called unhealthy.If you say “aren’t you having one more portion?” it could make the person stop because it is made very clear that (s)he has already consume one whole portion. (While portion sizes are unlimited in recovery, because (s)he needs all the energy (s)he can get.)If you say “I am so stuffed!”, there is a chance that the person will make sure to eat just a fraction of the amount you eat. If eating less than you is too late, the person might resort to purging, (excessive) exercise, etc. to get rid of the “unnecessary” food.

- Do not talk about dieting, diets, healthy/unhealthy food, weight loss, or exercise. This is triggering to almost everyone. If you don’t feel too thin (to be “allowed” to do any of these things), why would a person with an eating disorder feel too thin? (This is how the illness works.) If you think you should diet, why shouldn’t the person with an eating disorder diet? It is very likely that the eating disordered person feels like (s)he is at least twice your size – even if YOU are twice HER/HIS size, for that matter. Be careful!

- Do not assume you need to tell other people what they are doing. It is not your duty, it is none of your business, and you are not the first one to point out what they are doing either. Most patients, no matter what illness/condition they suffer from, receive well-meant advice every single day. Sometimes even from people they have never met before.

Another important factor regarding this topis, is (well-meant) advice.People with eating disorders receive tons of (well-meant) advice day after day. We who have eating disorders, of course know that the advisor means well. That, however, does not necessarily mean that any of these advices actually help, and it is not necessarily a good idea to give the advice either. In fact, you should try to avoid giving advice as often as possible.I am not saying one should never offer good advice, but there may be several reasons as to why you should not give the advice at all. I recommend you use the following questions as a guideline:- IS this good advice? If so, why? In what way do you feel certain that this will make a (positive!) difference?

- Do you think the person has received this advice many times before? If so, do you really find it necessary to repeat the advice for the forty-fifth time? The least you can do is ask the person if (s)he has received the advise many times before, and if (s)he has, then drop it. Completely.

- Is your advice medically safe? Guaranteed? Or is there possibly any (slightest) chance that you are wrong?A good example here is exercise. Many patients in recovery are encouraged to start exercising. The argument is that exercise strengthens bone mass and increases muscle mass. That is true, of course, but it only applies to people without an active eating disorder! In reality, people with eating disorders should’nt exercise at all (in spite of all the wonderful health benefits), simply because exercise very often keeps the body in starvation mode (making it impossible to recover), and also because muscle- and bone mass are already broken down – if they are broken down even more (yes, this is what exercise does, it breaks down muscles), they are never given the chance to heal.

- Is there a chance that your advice has a triggering effect? If no, how confident are you? Have you had an eating disorder? Has the person told you in detail what triggers her/him? (If you feel any doubt at all, mention the topic first and ask if this could potentially trigger.) If the advice turns out to trigger despite trying the opposite, do your best to debrief the situation afterwards.

Everything was nerve-wracking —your heartbeat rapidly increasing, every muscle in your body was tensed, and the sensation of knots forming in your stomach ruffled you. The crowd lauded for their chosen wagers, manifesting their morale whilst flagging posters that had their favorite’s name jotted down, as you yourself cheered for your own boyfriend who stood rugged inside the 24-square-foot ring. And it was pretty obvious who had the upper hand.

A limb amputation takes 4 to 8 weeks to heal. While port surgery can happen after the initial injury it’ll still involve a very large wound, so we can use that as our guideline for the surrounding flesh and skin to recover. (If anything, having a big foreign object in the way may make it take longer.)

Conventional nerve injuries come in multiple types. The most minor, neurapraxia, takes anywhere between several days and three months to heal. The others are listed as ‘much longer’, but I haven’t found much about recovery times for severed and surgically rejoined nerves because it seems to vary so much by technique and location, but sources suggest nerves heal at about an inch per month and I’ve not found anything that suggests less than a month recovery time, so let’s take 4 weeks as our minimum.

These days most pins used to fix broken bones are made from titanium or a titanium alloy. This is because the surface structure of titanium tricks the body into thinking it 'belongs’ and allows the bone to fuse itself to the metal, a process called osseointegration. Once the process is complete the metal cannot be removed and the join is just as strong as natural tissue, which would be ideal for automail. However, just as broken bones can take a long time to heal, so it takes time for osseointegration to finish. A decent strength can be achieved by 12 weeks and full bonding by 16.

We’re told that automail is heavy; you probably don’t want to be attaching a limb until you know that the port can support it without the patient suffering any damage. Something small like a finger (…do automail fingers exist?) will take at least a month before the nerves are ready and nothing will start bleeding, while for something like a limb you’ll want 3 to 4 months for everything to settle and to make sure the screws attaching the port can hold the automail’s weight.

Figuring out how long it takes to learn to use newly attached automail is trickier. Neurogenic muscle atrophy is what happens when nerve damage results in an unusable limb (as opposed to disuse atrophy where the limb is unusable for physical reasons and is less severe) and once you fix the underlying causes takes at least 12 weeks to fix. Stroke recovery starts around this time bracket and up. Modern artificial limbs take 6 to 12 months to learn. Taken together, we can estimate at least 3 months for gross controlled movement (ie no longer smacking yourself with your own arm or able to walk a few steps without face planting), 6 months for being able to do general tasks like walking without crutches or putting your clothes on (but probably not doing up your buttons) and 12+ months for full function. It’d also take around 6-12 months to build up the increased muscle mass to compensate for the heavier limbs and to adapt to your changed gait and balance.

That means for most adults automail recovery times are going to start at 16 months and go up from there, with longer times if one can’t get as much physical therapy. Ed managed it in 12 months and it can be assumed that more limbs equals longer overall recovery time, which is impressive. He did have two advantages though: firstly that he was still a kid at the time. The slow part of port recovery is the osseointegration. But children’s bones heal about twice as fast as adults and a smaller limb means lighter automail, meaning he’d be able to be fitted after 2 months instead of 4. His other advantage is living with the Rockbells and having constant access to people who can help him with his physical therapy, letting him cut 12+ months down to 10.

Lan Fan is another matter. She doesn’t have the advantage of youth (by mid teens bone healing rates are rapidly approaching adult ones) and even if she pushed herself to start rehab early using some additional limb support 3 months is just not enough. However! She does have another form of cheating: namely, medical alkestry. If someone could help her heal faster she could get her automail attached earlier. Even at 6 months she’d not have full usage of her new arm though nor time to finish building up the muscle strength. It’s likely her fight wrenched some muscles in her shoulder and that she was using her other training to compensate for not being able to hit precisely where she was wanting to slash. (And against a homunculi lacking vital organs and instant kill locations, sheer weight of slashes is what will do the trick in the end anyway.)

Interesting side notes: nerve healing requires increased Vitamins D and E, copper and selenium. The latter 3 can all be found in sunflower oil, with liver and nuts also being good sources. Patients recovering from automail surgery probably snack on a lot of trail mix and get put in deck chairs for a few hours a day. Rush Valley seems likely to have some nice relaxing parks with the odd sets of parallel bars for outdoor therapy.

The most widely used test of osseointegration progress is percussion analysis, where the external part of an implant is tapped with a dental tool. The pitch and tone of the ringing tells you how stable the implant is; still healing implants sound dull and low pitched while a fully healed one gives a higher pitched crystal ring. Mechanics performing port surgery are likely to have a good musical ear. Imagine apprentices learning the glockenspiel as part of their studies. Rush Valley probably has a nice glockenspiel orchestra.

not only do i want more cultural differences in fic, i also want those classic asian home remedies being shoved down victor’s throat like u know in episode 2 when victor does The Sneeze?? where’s hiroko tutting pitifully and rushing forward with a bowl of hot honey radish soup?? where’s toshiya grabbing the pot of tiger balm from their medicine cabinet?? when victor stumbles into the onsen after a long night of drinking at minako’s where’s mari giving him a very unimpressed glance before going to the kitchen and putting together some hot tea with pickled plums and telling him, “just drink it, baka” ???!?!?!?

imagine yuuri and victor moving to st. petersburg and bringing these asian home remedies with them. imagine yuri p crashing their brunches and being greeted with green onion and ginger porridge lest he “catch a cold from the harsh winter” (+1 side of victor teasing his moscow-born-and-raised background, “AS IF i haven’t been able to handle your shitty питер weather,” yurio says, having indeed not been able to handle the st. petersburg weather all these months, if we are going to assume that lilia begrudgingly applying dry mustard packets on his body a few nights a week has been any indication of that. which we are. going to assume.)

and these things too, yuuri will find himself exposed to—russian treatments that everyone at the rink swears by, like applying lines of wet iodine on his back to soothe sore muscles and increase blood circulation

like all im sayin is that victor and yuuri learning about each other and developing their love doesnt have to stop at okaeri and tadaima and vitenka and solnyshko, u know??

- Periods of high intensity exercise followed by periods of low intensity or recovery periods.
- Can be adapted to suit variable anaerobic needs:
-> Sprinters use shorter work intervals at high intensity and longer recovery periods
-> Endurance runners do longer work intervals at high speeds in order to adapt their natural pace for a marathon
- How to adapt sessions over time:
-> Change duration of work interval
-> Change intensity of work interval
-> Change duration of recovery
-> Change number or work intervals and recovery periods
- Benefits:
-> Muscle fibre recruitment = development of neuromuscular system
-> Cardiovascular benefits = cardiac hypertrophy, lower resting heart rate, increased elasticity of heart walls etc.
-> Improved anaerobic power
-> Increased myoglobin stores in muscles
-> Increased metabolism in the short term
-> And so many more!

Tips:
- During the sprints, your heart should be working at above 80 per cent of your maximum heart rate. (My average for the session was (172/203)x100 = 85%
- It’s okay to slow down a bit, just make sure you’re working as hard as you can. Remember, don’t over-exhert yourself though. If you begin to feel dizzy or unwell, stop immediately, sit down and drink plenty of water.
- Be aware that these sessions are extremely high intensity and you will be tired for at least a day after. This is natural because your body maintains a high metabolic rate for 24 hours after, so more energy will be used to recover from the session.

A/n: Do you want me to make any changes to the way i write? Do you want me to write more gender neutral? Let me know ^.^ Also i feel like i drifted away from the request.

Dan’s P.o.v:

Warm bodies moving together in sync. Heavy breaths filling the air. Her voice crying out in ecstasy. The feeling of her soft skin under my finger tips helps ignite my senses. That amazing peak building, and building and…

So, I just got some super frustrating news. I've been working on getting my body fat % down to at or below 24%, and having taped myself, I thought I was at 27%, so I've been excited. I go in to my recruiter's office to get taped and now I'm 7.5% off my goal. I'm trying to maintain my moto, but damn this is frustrating. I do 2 miles on the treadmill after work every night, at an incline of 10-14 at 3-3.5mph, my diet is good, could be a little better I suppose. BLARG.

This is actually a common occurrence for people. if you feel like you are getting in a rut with your workouts switch up the cardio.

Try biking, swimming, jump rope, elliptical,

You see the body is ONE ADAPTIVE MUHFUGGA so if you do the same thing over and over without increasing the intensity or length of exercises then that is just

The Law of Diminishing Returns

Heres an Example not many know this but theres a misconception that training
with high reps only works muscular endurance.

You see when training with high reps
with an exercise you can very well put on strength and size but the problem is
as you become stronger and doing more repetitions, the noticeable gains in
muscle mass and strength go down.

So
while thinking the more reps you add, the stronger you get they are actually
making the increases in strength and size smaller.

So while reps in the range of 20- 40 where
muscle failure is hit and you can do no more with good form, That can actually build
an impressive amount of strength and muscle.

But the higher above this you go
the smaller the increases in strength and muscle mass.

the level of profits or benefits gained is less than the amount of energy invested.

As you keep adding to the number of reps you can do, strength is less affected and
endurance is more affected. until you are doing so many pushups that changes in
strength are no longer measurable. That
happens somewhere around 130-150 reps, according to the various researches.

SO I could do say 1000 Squats but Honestly while it be great my muscular endurance if im looking for Strength and Size it probably be better just to add more weight and do less reps.

But there are folks like Herschel Walker who does 1000s of Pushups and Situps everyday and get INSANE BENEFITS but he is an anamoly

But anyways to get back to what you were saying.

Stop doing the Same old Same Old and switch it up. It keeps your workouts more fun and also helps you keep getting results.

BUT REMEMBER IF YOU ARE NOT SLEEPING A MINIMUM OF 8-9 HOURS WHILE WORKING OUT AND EATING HEALTHY NUTRITIOUS FOODS FOR THE MAJORITY OF YOUR CALORIES then you are honestly wasting Time because only when they all work together do you get the best results

She can store electricity in her body which she can redirect through her hands for basic physical lightning attacks or keep inside her to power up her muscles for increased strength.

While unable to produce electricity herself, she can pull it from any electronic device, as well as power cables, outlets and batteries.

There is a limit to how much electricity she can store, which can be improved through strength training. Her costume includes a battery pack at each hip that she uses to store excess energy and pull energy from in emergencies.

Overuse of the additional strength takes its toll in the form of muscle cramps.

All of this is subject to change, who knows. I might work with someone to figure out a costume.

Been seeing some Fallon Fox things recently and it gives me this thought. If you think Fallon has no biological advantage like upper arm structure or bone density ect, are you for the complete elimination of gender divided sports leagues? (Now I think about it I can say the fallout of it would be interesting.)

No. Your logic doesn’t really follow here. The biggest thing that provides advantages in athletic competition is the presence or absence of testosterone, which increases hematocrit (red blood cell count, and thus oxygen carrying capacity and waste elimination) as well as increases in muscle mass. In the absence of testosterone Fallon doesn’t have an advantage. The NCAA and the IOCC back this up. I think your ‘ask’ here is predicated on the assumption that a trans woman maintains some sort of athletic advantage from having been shaped by testosterone, but science shows that once the testosterone is gone, the advantages are gone. When athletes and bodybuilders use huge amounts of steroids, they get bigger and more muscular than is possible without it, and when they stop taking it they lose all of that unnaturally large muscle mass. Without the presence of the excess testosterone the body can’t keep that advantageous musculature. Same with a trans woman who undergoes HRT–once her hormones have shifted to the cisgender female range, her physiology does as well, and those ranges are averages. Arguments that trans women have denser bones than cisgender women have been debunked (and I believe the same bone density argument was used in the past to prevent black women from competing with white women in athletics as well). Claims that trans women have longer bones, different muscle insertions, and different leverage are similarly silly as those attributes have a wide range of variety across all human beings regardless of gender and the differences in male and female skeletons are so minute that determining sex (birth or assigned sex in this case) on the shape, size, density, and appearance of a skeleton is not an exact science. Many skeletons known to archaeology are assumed to belong to people of one sex or another until dna testing reveals them to be of others. A recent example in the news were some of the “maidens” from the excavations at Pompeii.

Anecdotally, I am myself am still a very strong and fairly athletic woman (physically), but I believe that has more to do with quirks of my genetics and upbringing than my birth assigned sex. When I started HRT I lost thirty pounds of lean muscle. My endurance has decreased. My strength has decreased. I might be strong, but I can’t deadlift the back end of a car anymore. I was a natural athlete as a child and I had a childhood that involved what is now not a socially acceptable level of hard labor, and even after transitioning I was a blacksmith for a year and a half, and I attribute my relatively high levels of strength and athleticism to a lifetime of being a runner, laborer, weight lifter, and special forces soldier. I’m trying to get back into more athletic shape and I will say now that pre-transition working out was easier and I had far less difficulty in shedding body fat. I’ve also always had relatively wide hips and narrow shoulders (in terms of skeletal structure), though my heavy musculature pre-transition concealed that fact.

I do support men and women competing directly in most athletic competitions to be honest, but at the absolute highest levels of sports that depend on muscular strength and endurance men and folks with levels of testosterone in the standard cisgender male range (or above) tend to have an advantage.

That being said, I think women’s athletics still have a lot of room to improve and find greater heights of performance than can be achieved due largely to social factors. I think men are encouraged to pursue athletics and sport and physically vigorous activity from birth and women are actively discouraged from these pursuits. Even when women are encouraged in athletics, their culturally perceived femininity is seen as more important than their pursuit of athletics. Without the enormous amount of money, science, technology, and active cultural pursuit of female athletic performance potential that we see in men’s athletics, I think it’s going to be a while before women (as an overarching group) actually maximize their athletic potential at the absolute pinnacle of sports because there is so much cultural pushback against it (example: the recent elimination of women’s bodybuilding from the Arnold classic and the Olympia) . I think we have a long time to go before we can definitively say what the peak of female performance is and whether or not sports should be segregated by gender in the long run, but for now I would say gender segregation should remain in place.

(Although the presence of weight classes in combat sports does seem to mitigate some of the advantage issues–an episode of ‘fight science’ a few years ago showed Lucia Rijker–a female championship boxer weighing 140 pounds at 5′6″ tall, punched harder than Moe Ganyu–a male olympic boxer of identical height and weight. Additionally, she punched as hard as the 6′ tall, 203 pound mixed martial artist Houston Alexander who was known for his knockout power).

At any rate, I’m not an expert, but I would suggest you look at the IOCC’s guidance and studies on gender, performance, and trans inclusion.

Galra have a lot of stretch marks. These guys are extremely tall individuals. I’d imagine them to grow pretty quickly and since many of them fight in the gladiator arena, training also increases their muscle mass. They’d have stretch marks on their shoulders (especially the males), stomachs, all around their arns, and hips (mainly the females).

The Galra would be surprised if someone didn’t have stretch marks. Stretch marks are also viewed with high regard because that means the individual has trained hard to rise within the ranks of the Empire.

Warnings: some arguing, mentions of abuse, self-loathing, angst for days. (Not too much more I don’t think)

Summary~ With Sam having just left the family business to go to college, the Winchester family is a bit shaken. Dean, Y/N, and John deal with this difficult situation the best they can, but can the family business really go on without one of the esteemed members, Sam Winchester?

“I mean what I said, Y/N,” his wide, green eyes flicking back and forth between the windows in the dingy motel room, “No. You’re only 17! It’s too dangerous,” Dean shouted, anger slowly building within him, fear prowling on his shoulders. There was no way he would let the youngest Winchester out of his sight, which would surely happen considering her free spirit.

“I’ve been on plenty hunts before. Where’s the sudden change coming from, Dean?” An ice cold serenity flooded into your stance, your shoulders relaxed and you took a deep breath. “Is this really about me? Or is it…” you knew you were going to regret this, “Is this about our other brother, Dean?”

His face hardened as his guard came down. “Screw you. This is not about- damn it, Y/N. Sammy has nothing to do with this!”

You rolled your eyes. “Right. I can really see that dearest Sammy’s departure hasn’t affected you at all, Dean! I mean, the late night drinking, the constant bar visits- you’re taking this great!” Cynicism dripped from your every word.

Whilst ignoring you, Dean picked up his keys and moved from one corner of the small, mouldy motel room, looking for the items he needed on this simple wendigo hunt.

“Dean, I’m coming with you.” You crossed your arms.

He continued ignoring you.

“Dean, don’t you even think about leaving me here.”

Your words were lost on him.

“Dean!” you finally exploded.

“What?!” he yelled, inches away from the door.

“You’re not dad, you know. Even though you try so hard to be.” The bitterness seeping from you could be seen from miles away.

His back tensed, that familiar worn leather jacket facing you once again. “Do not leave this room. Dad will not be happy if he comes back to see you gone. Again.” The door slammed shut with a finality which made you scream out in rage.

You ran to the door to see Dean getting in the impala. “Screw you, Dean!” He took off, the wheels squealing as he pushed the beloved, old car to it’s limits.

Frustrated tears leaked from your tightly closed eyes, though you tried to keep them in, to bury the hurt deep. Reluctantly, you returned to the terrible living quarters, locking the door and falling with a great thump onto the cheap budget bed, which would usually have made Sammy chuckle. You wondered if he was having fun at Stanford, if he was ever going to come back.

You were glad no one was there to see you cry, at least. John had taught you to never let anyone know your true emotions- not even your brothers could know how you felt.

Of course, that rule excluded John. He was always to know every detail of your life. And when you did lie- rarely, when you actually thought about your rebellious teenage years (which were far from over)- boy, did John get angry. You never wanted to think about those days, the days when dad sent the boys away on some hunt at least 4 states away but kept you home- to train. A hyperbole for punishment. He would order you around, forcing you to run miles and miles without a minute’s break and then only give you the minimum amount of water needed to keep you vertical. Then, after hours of running, you would clean the weapons. All one hundred and thirty four of them, until they were spotless. And if those forsaken guns or knives had even a speck of dust or dirt on them, John would make you clean all of them. All over again. Even if they were clean.

He made you shoot impossibly far targets, and if you missed (which happened often), you would get an earful of how terrible a hunter you were, and how John, “couldn’t believe you of all people were a Winchester.” Then, he would make you spar with him, to ‘increase your muscle mass and strength’. It was just an excuse for him to beat you senseless.

Although all these punishments were difficult and wore you down significantly, they weren’t the worst part of your ‘training’. The excruciating part was the mental exhaustion and weariness that settled in after a few days. You’d wake up early in the morning and lay in bed wondering what the point was. And then John would walk in to find you awake, and the abuse began. He would call you worthless, useless. Stupid. So much that eventually you just gave up the fight- you began to believe it yourself. You lost your individuality around John- you turned into the perfect little warrior after he got his hands on you. After a few moments of reminiscing about your splendid childhood, you decided to grab all your items.

“Screw Dean, I’m going to the bar.” The bang of the motel door filled you with an addicting satisfaction.

Who cared about the consequences? If Sam could leave, then so could you, for a short while at least.

What can you tell me about different types of fear responses like on a physical level? Is that related to "going into shock"? Also this kinda blurs the lines of your jurisdiction, so if you can't really answer I totally get it. Thanks so much for everything you do!!!!!!!!!

Hey there nonny! Actually, physiology of the adrenaline response is exactly my jurisdiction :) You asked for a “physical level”, so I’m going to talk physiology, not psychology.

Physiologically, what’s going to happen is that your character’s body is going to release a bunch of neurotransmitters and hormones, primarily epinephrine (AKA adrenaline). Adrenaline has a number of physiological effects:

Increased heart rate and blood pressure

Increased respiratory rate

Fear and panic (when induced by fear)

Dilated pupils

Sweating and a feeling of being hot all over

Increased blood flow to muscles; decreased blood flow to organs

Nausea, vomiting

“Pucker factor” – increased rectal tone. Yes, really.

Tunnel vision

Fine motor control is difficult or lost entirely

Decreased sensation of pain

People get stronger, feel less pain, and can think less clearly under the effects of an adrenaline surge, aka adrenaline rush, aka sympathetic surge, aka catecholamine dump.

The correlation between the fear response and a character entering shock – actual, medical shock, ie systemic hypoperfusion, or not enough blood flow getting where it needs to be – is that adrenaline is the body’s first line of defense against the effects of shock. Adrenaline tightens up the blood vessels, which increases blood pressure (can normalize it if it’s low). Adrenaline also helps us get out of lethal situations – or at least, it helped our ancestors do that.

What’s useful to understand about the relationship between adrenaline and shock is that if shock is the problem, adrenaline is the solution.

However, this amazing superpower humans have comes at a cost. Afterward, we get exhausted. We also can’t think as clearly or make rational decisions during these episodes.

For a surprisingly good guide to adrenaline response from a blog I don’t necessarily recommend in general, check out [this article from the Art of Manliness]. The research about this is mainly based on soldiers in combat, but it gets discussed actually a lot in the medical sphere, because when a patient is shitting the bed in front of you, you need to know how to remain calm.

I got an anonymous Tumblr prompt a while back for ripped, personal trainer Isak with a buzzcut. I fulfilled the first part of that—hopefully you still like it, anon, wherever you are! <3 <3 I’m soooo sorry I lost your ask, bb, Tumblr just glitched out on me hard. Anyway this is my unfortunate contribution to SKAM Fic Week, Day 3 (alternate first meeting). Other, more talented people have written much better gym fic (I hope they can forgive me), but I still hope you all enjoy! Title from Salt-N-Pepa’s “Shoop.”

Also, if Even could actually get deeply, utterly, monumentally screwed by the dude in front of him, preferably into a mattress in the next forty-five seconds, that would be great.

(Or they could do it in the locker room, for convenience’s sake. Sure, it smells like feet and is probably overrun with naked geriatrics, but time is of the essence and Even’s not picky.)

Because this dude just happens to be the single most attractive thing—human, animal, or mineral—that Even’s ever seen in his twenty short years on Earth. If someone asked him why, he’s not even sure he’d be able to point to anything specific. Like, sure, there’s the kind, green eyes; or the delicate, upturned nose; or the sweet rosebud mouth; or the sharp, masculine jawline; or the thick, blond curls; or the glorious fucking abs that Even can just make out with how tantalizingly the dude’s tight shirt is clinging to them.

But it’s the whole package, really, all of it together, that does him in.

Also, he really shouldn’t be thinking about the word “package” right now.